Strawberry Puff Pastries

I've been on a bit of an unintentional hiatus, mainly because I've discovered that baking as a hobby is quite the pocket drainer.

Anyhow, I had some left over puff pastry in the freezer and the idea of these Strawberry Puff Pastries sprang to mind. As a child, my mom would treat me to a strawberry pastry at Grain D' Or (now Anderson's Bakery) every once in a while. To this day, those pastries bring back pleasant memories so I wanted to create something similar. After doing a little research, I used a recipe for Sunny Side Up Apricot Pastries, from Baking with Julia, as a starting point.


I started by covering a flat surface with sugar and laying the thawed puff pastry sheet on top. Then, I cut out 4 inch rounds and pressed them down a bit to make the sugar adhere. Turning them sugar side up, I placed all four rounds onto a baking sheet fitted with a sheet of parchment paper. In the middle of each, I dropped about 2 whopping teaspoons of pastry cream. They went in the oven and baked for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges were golden brown. After cooling, I topped each round with 3 halved strawberries and brushed it with an apricot glaze.

This was the first time I made pastry cream and found it to be pretty easy. I used vanilla extract (vanilla bourbon to be exact), but I would recommend using a vanilla pod instead. The vanilla extract turned the cream a little brown from being bright yellow. The latter is more of an appealing color.

I thought these pastries were very good. They weren't exactly like I've had them before, but pretty close. Since I used a puff pastry crust, it was crispy and lighter than the original, which uses a danish type pastry.

Strawberry Puff Pastry

1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
pinch salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
12 strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1/2 cup apricot preserves
3 teaspoons water

Pastry Cream: Place milk, sugar, yolks, salt and cornstarch in a 2 quart saucepan. If using vanilla bean, slice lengthwise and add it now. On medium-high heat, whisk and bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 1 to 2 minutes or until the whisk leaves track marks. Pour mixture into a strainer. Cover with plastic wrap, pushing it down to rest on top of the cream. Put a layer of ice cubes on top of the plastic wrap and leave until the cream has cooled. The cream can be made ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a sheet pan with a sheet of parchment paper.

Sprinkle sugar over a counter and lay thawed puff pastry on top. Cut out 4 inch rounds, using a cutter or a knife. Discard scraps. Slightly press each round into the sugar and place each, sugar side up, onto sheet pan with parchment paper. Place about 2 heaping teaspoons in the middle of each round. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

While the pastries are baking, make the glaze by heating the apricot preserves and water in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and keep warm until the pastries are ready.

When the pastries are done baking, allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Place 3 halved strawberries on each and brush glaze over tops. Serve immediately. (I refrigerated mine and ate one the next day.)